Art Gallery of Mississauga identity

Identity, Entertainment

The art gallery of the City of Mississauga, Canada, is a neglected cultural treasure, often called “the best-kept secret in Mississauga.” When the city asked Toronto-based design firm The White Room to rebrand the gallery, creative director Neil Rodman decided to go for some dazzle—literally. Rodman devised a graphic treatment that resembles the razzle-dazzle camouflage used on WWI ships to confuse an approaching enemy’s ability to judge their distance and speed. The irony is that this “camouflage” draws much-needed attention to the gallery, which houses a collection of important historical and contemporary Canadian art. Tucked away inside Mississauga City Hall, the gallery is difficult for passersby to spot, but this angled patchwork of black-and-white stripes on the gallery’s signage and collateral makes it easy to see and expresses the excitement of the collections. “It was neat to turn camo into its exact opposite,” Rodman says, and the idea has opened a new creative door for The White Room. “Our branding offers opportunities for doing modern takes on other historic patterns down the road,” Rodman says.